Real Brownfields Deserve Dollars I
read with interest the story on Brownfield development dollars in the
July 20 issue. I applaud Dan Lathrop and other county commissioners who
voted “No” on the Randolph Street project...

Hopping Mad Carlin
Smith is hopping mad (“Will You Get Mad With Me?” 7-20-15). Somebody
filed a fraudulent return using his identity, and he’s not alone. The AP
estimates the government “pays more than $5 billion annually in
fraudulent tax refunds.” Well, many of us have been
hopping mad for years. This is because the number one tool Congress has
used to fix this problem has been to cut the IRS budget –by $1.2 billion
in the last 5 years...

Just Grumbling, No Solutions Mark
Pontoni’s grumblings [recent Northern Express column] tell us much
about him and virtually nothing about those he chooses to denigrate. We
do learn that Pontoni may be the perfect political candidate. He’s
arrogant, opinionated and obviously dimwitted...

A Racist Symbol I
have to respond to Gordon Lee Dean’s letter claiming that the
confederate battle flag is just a symbol of southern heritage and should
not be banned from state displays. The heritage it represents was the
treasonous effort to continue slavery by seceding from a democratic
nation unwilling to maintain such a consummate evil...

Not So Thanks I
would like to thank the individual who ran into and knocked over my
Triumph motorcycle while it was parked at Lowe’s in TC on Friday the
24th. The $3,000 worth of damage was greatly appreciated. The big dent
in the gas tank under the completely destroyed chrome badge was an
especially nice touch...

Modern Rock

Matchbox Twenty will drop a new double DVD on May 25th - *Show: A Night in the Life of Matchbox Twenty* will spotlight the band‘s June 28th, 2003 show at Atlanta, Georgia‘s Philips arena. It‘s not just a concert DVD, though - the 3 1/2 hours of content also include a 50-minute documentary, an extensive photo gallery, and a multiple camera angles setup for two of the tracks. The 20 songs included in the live performance portion of the disc feature all of Matchbox Twenty‘s big hits, from early singles “Push“ and “3 A.M.“ to the more recent tracks “Disease“ and “Unwell“...

Another new DVD coming out soon chronicles punk‘s longest running tour to date - namely the Vans Warped Tour. Following the tour‘s 2003 trek, the DVD compiles footage of performances from Pennywise, Rancid, the Ataris, the Used, Sum 41, Less Than Jake, and Simple Plan, among others. The disc also includes behind-the-scenes footage, from an hour‘s worth of interviews with both the musicians and tour personnel to a photo gallery and artwork from Robert Williams, the artist who is perhaps best known for creating the cover art for Guns N‘Roses *Appetite For Destruction* album. Set to hit stores on June 22nd, this should hold Warped Tour fans over until this year‘s Warped event kicks off on June 25th in Houston, Texas, complete with New Found Glory, Good Charlotte, and Thursday...

This may come as a surprise to many Modern Rock readers, but actress Minnie Driver has a second hidden talent up her sleeve - she‘s been playing guitar, singing, and writing songs for over 10 years (at age 15 she was the lead singer/guitarist in the all girl punk band “The Drunk Sluts“) and is now set to release her debut solo album on indie singer-songwriter Pete Yorn‘s Trampoline Records. Driver, whose influences are said to include Gillian Welch, Eddie Vedder, and Johnny Cash, mixes up acoustic guitar tracks with more “vibe-y“ bass lines on her tracks; other musician friends who appear on her album are guitarist Marc Dauer and Wallflowers‘ keyboardist Rami Jaffee. The first single, “Everything In My Pocket,“ can be heard both on Driver‘s own disc and on Trampoline Records‘ latest complilation, *Trampoline Records Greatest Hits Vol. II*. She can also be heard singing in her current film, “Ella Enchanted,“ and in the new film version of “Phantom of the Opera,“ which is due out next winter...

And, in more “not what you‘d expect“ news, you might want to keep an eye out for the Mazzy Star-meets-Courtney Love sound of the new band Becky - they‘ve only been together for about three months, but are reportedly tearing up L.A. with their live shows and rapidly growing fan base. So what makes Becky stand out? Well, admittedly, they do have some great songs, but chances are a lot of their initial press coverage has been due to the fact that their lead singer is Rebecca Lord, one of the housemates from MTV‘s *The Real World: Seattle* show - and their bass player is Keanu Reeves. No word yet on when their debut album will be out (you can download Becky songs in the meantime from their website, www.beckyband.com) but we‘ll keep you updated...

MINI BUZZ: Atlanta, Georgia‘s Music Midtown Festival is set for the beginning of May, with scheduled acts including Courtney Love, Foo Fighters, Gary Jules, The Strokes, and Wyclef Jean... This year‘s MTV Movie Awards will take place on June 5th and will be broadcast on June 10th on MTV, with film nominees including *Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl; The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King; The Last Samurai; Lost in Translation; Finding Nemo; X2: X-Men United;* and *50 First Dates.* “Best Dance Sequence* is the show‘s newest award category... Former Smiths frontman-turned-solo artist Morrissey has booked three London appearances as part of the Meltdown Festival, where he‘ll be appearing at the Royal Festival Hall on June 11th, 12th, and 26th... Jet, who have just wrapped a tour opening for fellow Aussies The Vines, are now back in their homeland of Australia, kicking new songs around for what will be their upcoming second album... The Beastie Boys‘ new album is set to drop this summer - the Boys‘ latest, titled *To The Five Boroughs,* is a musical salute to their hometown of New York City; the disc‘s first single is slated to be “Ch-Check It Out“... And The Corrs have snagged a May 25th release date for their next album *Borrowed Heaven;* The Corrs also plan to tour the U.S. in the fall...

ON CD: Cutting Crew releases *The Best of Cutting Crew*... The Alarm drop their already critically-acclaimed *In The Poppy Fields*... Blue Rodeo releases *Greatest Hits Vol. 1*... A Perfect Circle offers up *Mer De Noms*... Lenny Kravitz presents *Baptism*... and Juliana Hatfield releases *In Exile Deo*... ON DVD: *Devo: Live*... *Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds - The Videos*... X (Japan) - *Best*... and Music In High Places presents *The deftones Live in Hawaii*... and that‘s the buzz for this week‘s Modern Rock.